


Sycamore Girl

by RascalPink



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 16:20:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21323089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RascalPink/pseuds/RascalPink
Summary: Trust Jeongyeon to find herself talking with a random stranger under the lone sycamore tree in the park. Never talk to strangers, unless they were this pretty maybe.
Relationships: Myoui Mina/Yoo Jeongyeon
Comments: 3
Kudos: 66





	Sycamore Girl

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).

> for ggsonce :)

I guess you got me where you want me, girl  
And I'm not sure if we should slow it down (slow down)  
And I'm ashamed of the way that I've appeared  
But I promise I'm not gonna let you down (don't let me down)  
By the way, I don't know how to be in love  
I'm not afraid, I'm a slave right away  
And I'm here for good

\- Sycamore Girl by Rex Orange County

* * *

When the leaves turned orange, Jeongyeon was outside basking in the autumn wind. It was chilly, but she wore a puffy sweater lined with fake fur on the inside. It did not make sense, however, despite her efforts to keep herself warm that she wore ripped jeans. 

In the end, she shivered and wrapped her arms around her body. 

The park was such a peaceful place, more so around this time of the year, when almost everyone would be at the football game at Redding High. Almost everyone. 

Under the lone sycamore tree, another girl sat and looked up at the ever changing colors of the leaves. They fell upon her, but she did not bother to remove them. It was as if she wanted to be buried in them. Like the wind Jeongyeon basked in, this girl loved the leaves. 

Jeongyeon stood still and watched the girl become delighted as leaves fell upon her. From green to orange to red, there was happiness on her face. Jeongyeon smiled; at least, she thought, one of them was happy.

The girl had long black hair with curls on the end. Her eyes were brown; it matched the bark of the tree she leaned against. And unlike Jeongyeon, she protected herself well from the chilling cold—not wearing oxymorons. 

She interested Jeongyeon. The girl was a sight for sore eyes. She was, in fact, ethereal in beauty. Her skin was pale and she conducted herself with grace and poshness. Jeongyeon felt her heart skip. She immediately smoothened the aching in her chest. 

Jeongyeon took her sight away from the girl. She must not be thinking of such thoughts. She shouldn’t, she believed. She shouldn’t think of another girl. Not since...not since that day a year ago. It hurt.

But Jeongyeon could not stop herself, and her eyes went back to the girl by the tree. But when she came to, the girl was not there, as if she disappeared within a mere second. 

Jeongyeon shook her head. She needed to focus. 

Whoever that girl was, Jeongyeon hoped she never saw her again. Or else she wouldn’t know what to do with herself.

//

Redding High, to Jeongyeon, was a cesspool of boring. Nothing and no one appealed to her. Everyone felt so basic. The people who were meant to be interesting were like broken tape recorders, playing and reciting the same lines over and over again. Everyone was the same. And the same was boring.

Jeongyeon closed her locker. She stared at the green locker door for a moment. It was empty. It was dull. No decorations unlike most other people. 

She turned around and looked around the hallway. People were chatting. They were laughing. They were having fun. Jeongyeon did not understand them—how they could be so content with such banality.

She merely shook her head and headed to her class, and along the way, she paid respects to the memorial of the student that died a year ago.

//

There she was again. Jeongyeon held her breath. That girl was here again, leaning as she sat upon the sycamore tree. Again, the leaves fell with abundance upon the girl’s now ashen head. Overnight, the girl must’ve dyed her hair.

Jeongyeon was not complaining. She believed the girl would look amazing in any hairstyle and color.

She found her feet gravitating toward the sycamore girl, as she so aptly named her. The bark of the tree matched the girl’s hair, and it further amplified her etherealness. Jeongyeon could believe she was seeing a human being. 

She stood in front of her, awkwardly shifting in place. The girl did not notice her, or rather, she did not care, for her eyes were delighted with the leaves as usual.

“H-Hey,” Jeongyeon called. The girl did not flinch nor did she make a single outward quip to return Jeongyeon’s greeting. 

Again, Jeongyeon tried. Her voice was stronger this time.

“Hey,” she called. “What’s your name?”

The girl lowered her head to meet Jeongyeon’s. Her eyebrows were furrowed with confusion. She pointed at herself.

“Are you talking to me?”

Jeongyeon nodded and she noticed the girl visibly gulp. Like her, the girl must have been nervous too. She understood that feeling.

“Mina,” the girl answered. “My name is Mina.”

Her voice was soft and fragile. Jeongyeon believed that if anything remotely exciting were to happen, the girl would merely faintly cheer or scream. She was, by far, the least energetic person she knew.

Jeongyeon crouched to her level and outstretched her hand. 

“Jeongyeon. Nice to meet you.”

Mina gingerly took Jeongyeon’s hand and shook it, slowly, as if she was waiting for something to happen.

Jeongyeon felt strange. Mina’s hand was deathly cold, like she lost all semblance of warmth in her body. And when Jeongyeon shook her hand, she felt weaker, had less energy than before. Whatever it was, Jeongyeon did not like it.

The girl let go of Jeongyeon’s hand, and in an instant, Jeongyeon felt better again. She did not understand why.

“The leaves are pretty,” Mina said as she looked up at the branches again. One particular leaf, a dark red one, fell on her face. She picked up with a smile on her face and pocketed it inside her jacket.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Jeongyeon felt awkward around Mina, since this sycamore girl was acting as if she was not there. “Say...do you go to Redding High?”

The sycamore girl flinched at the question. She looked at Jeongyeon with a scared expression, but it immediately morphed into one of sadness and grief. The girl gulped and fiddled with the hem of her jacket. She grasped it hard, her knuckles turning white, before she merely said, “I used to. Not anymore.”

“Not anymore? So you graduated.”

The sycamore girl looked away from her.

“No, I didn’t.”

“So you dropped out?”

The sycamore girl frowned heavily before looking back at Jeongyeon.

“I guess...you could call it that. I dropped out.”

Jeongyeon nodded. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m sure you had your reasons.”

“Reasons…” Mina trailed before she shook her head. “You can’t be here. You aren’t supposed to be talking to me.”

Jeongyeon was taken aback. She was not used to being repelled. Granted, she did not put herself in a position to be most of the time. But Jeongyeon felt the sting it gave; it was like a prick against her finger, drawing blood and painful.

“What? Why?” Jeongyeon pleaded. She would normally leave at this point and give up and apologize. 

“I’m not someone you want to get tangled with, Jeongyeon. Go any further and you’ll regret it.”

Jeongyeon swallowed the lump in her throat, but her resolve hardened. She won’t give up, no, not this time.

“Let me regret it then,” Jeongyeon replied. “Get dinner with me.”

Mina merely raised a brow and scoffed. She looked away from Jeongyeon towards the vast expanse of the park. As usual, no one was here. 

“You’re an interesting one. Alright, dinner it is. Just don’t cry.”

“Cry? What are yo—”

Jeongyeon’s eyes must have been lying to her. Because in an instant, a mere blink, Mina disappeared from her sight. All that was left was the falling leaves and the white bark of the sycamore tree. 

//

True to her quiet nature and basic anti-social self, Jeongyeon found herself working as the librarian’s assistant. She stocked shelves, helped the ever decreasing amount of students find their books, and despite it not being part of the job description, lounged with some Coke and Doritos in the back corner of the library, near the historical section. No one saw her so no one complained. She used to have a friend here, but ah—nevermind.

At this moment, she did exactly that. However, this time with a liter of Sprite and some barbecue Fritos. She jazzed things up like this sometimes, give her usual snack time more pizzazz than usual. She was not exactly the type to live life to the extremes. This was as extreme as she was going to get.

Since she was in the historical section, she took privy to reading some books as she munched her Doritos. This particular one she was reading detailed the events of D-Day. She could not fathom the death and destruction. It was unreal to her. 

“I hated that day,” a voice said behind her. Jeongyeon jumped at the voice, startled, and she turned around. 

“Mina, Jesus, you fucking scared me.” Jeongyeon put a hand to her chest to calm down. The history book was left pages open on the floor, now forgotten. “Where did you come from?” 

“I saw you. I walked. And...now I'm here,” Mina explained. She picked up the history book from the ground, turning to the page Jeongyeon was on. “Thousands of people dead in the blink of an eye. And the world just fucking watched.”

“Millions died before that,” Jeongyeon said. “They were trying to stop it.”

“And what did the world do before that?”

Jeongyeon kept mum. She knew the answer. And it hurt how it felt so close to her. Because a year ago, she watched her best friend die and did nothing.

“You're thinking about something.” Mina leaned in closer and put a finger between the creases of Jeongyeon’s brow, easing it out. “Don't think too hard on things that you can't change. There's no point in stressing. Keep it up and you'll get wrinkles.” 

Jeongyeon slumped her shoulders and leaned forward in her seat. She did not want to show her sadness, especially not in front of Mina. 

“It's okay to be sad, though. Don't let my words deter you.”

“Mina,” Jeongyeon called and she looked up. “Did you know Nayeon?”

Mina nodded, solemnly. “She was a good person. She was confused, I remember, but she took it well. At least, after crying for a few hours.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing,” Mina said and flipped through the history book in her hand. “Ah! This one, look…”—She showed the page to Jeongyeon and pointed at it—“...Winston Churchill. He’s a funny asshole. Gosh, you should’ve known him.”

Jeongyeon furrowed her brows. She frowned and then looked up at the girl beside her.

“It’s like you know him.” Jeongyeon chuckled and grabbed the book from Mina’s grasp. She scanned the page and smiled. It detailed Winston Churchill and who he was.

“History books tell a lot,” Mina said, her face stoic and serious. “Maybe one day you’ll get your own Wikipedia page.”

“Do you have anything like that? Some aspirations?” Jeongyeon turned her head to Mina.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Mina replied.

“Like, do you want to be famous? Do you want to have a page?”

There was silence. Mina was thinking. And Jeongyeon figured it was normal to think of things like this. Not everybody got their whole life planned out. Nobody knew their future.

“I’d like to have one,” Mina finally answered. “But it’ll probably be so sad and terrible.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because it’s in my nature. It’s meant to be. And if things are meant to be, then I can’t change that.”

Jeongyeon kept her mouth shut. Mina was so pessimistic. She did not understand why. Something must have her happened to her in the past. Even after all the things Jeongyeon had went through, she still hoped for something better. Maybe that was it: hope.

“Cursive or Print?” Jeongyeon asked. It sounded so ominous; such a weird question to ask, but Jeongyeon had her reasons.

“Cursive,” Mina answered.

“Okay. Dinner at Gentry’s, then.” Jeongyeon closed the book and stood up from her seat. She stood level with Mina, okay, maybe a little higher than Mina. She swore Mina was taller when she saw her at the sycamore tree.

Mina grabber her arm, squeezing it tight.

“Wait, that’s expensive. I can’t let you take me there.”

“You said cursive. And. Cursive. Is. Fancy.” Jeongyeon finished with a little boop on Mina’s nose. She rid herself from Mina’s grasp and went past her and inserted the book back to its rightful position on the bookshelf. She looked to Mina, wide smile on her face. 

“You gotta stop looking like you’re death. We’ve had enough of that around here. I’m gonna put a smile on that pretty face of yours whether you like it or not. Trust me on that.”

//

Dinner could not have come sooner for Jeongyeon. She sat idly in her seat, tapping away on the clothed table, staring at the empty seat in front of her. She waited for Mina, and she hoped Mina did not forget or rather, she did not care to come. 

Gentry’s was the typical fancy pancy restaurant. It was in the name itself. Gentry—high born, noble, the elites. The meals cost from upwards of three hundred dollars and a low of about fifty. Jeongyeon felt her wallet quake in fear in her purse, which sat idle under the table.

All those hours at the arcade. Gone. Spent in the blink of an eye. It’d take a few weeks of nonstop work after class to get back to where she was before. And she even had her library duties to take care of. Tell her, why did she think she could pay for a meal here?

Right, Mina. Girls; why do they have to be so awesome and terrible at the same time? Jeongyeon believed girls were oxymorons, full of contradictions, and yet, they work perfectly for some odd reason. 

Jeongyeon’s mind wandered into territory she did not care for much. She digressed. 

Mina had a knack for showing up at the weirdest of times. She had some perfect timing to sneak up on Jeongyeon, not even footsteps to be heard or a greeting from far away. Mina was just there. No explanation for it.

“Hey Jeongyeon,” Mina greeted.

Jeongyeon blinked a few times. She wondered if her eyes were still working probably or whether or not she was going crazy. She wouldn’t put the latter past her. Lately, she had been feeling a bit out of it.

“H-How did you?”

Mina tilted her head and raised her brow.

“Hmmm?”

Jeongyeon coughed and shook her head. She picked up her menu.

“It’s nothing. Let’s order, shall we?”

Jeongyeon peered over her menu. Again. Several times. It became so frequent that it looked like she was practically staring at Mina. Well, she was, but that was besides the point. The point was: she didn’t even know what she was ordering. 

“You got yours?” Mina asked, menu now down and fingers intertwined with each other. She looked softly at Jeongyeon, but something was still missing, Jeongyeon noticed. There was no smile yet.

“Errr...yeah. Totally do.” 

She did not.

“What’re you getting?” 

“Number thirteen.” Jeongyeon merely memorized a number from the menu. She didn't even know what she chose.

Mina picked up her menu and scrunched her nose. She raised a brow and jutted her bottom lip out, seemingly apprehensive at the choice. 

“Fresh lobster?...Market price.”

Market Price. What did that even mean? Jeongyeon felt like she was about to pay an astronomical amount of cash for dinner. 

“I’ll get the same then. Lobster too.”

Times two. Twice. Whatever this market price was for lobster, please for the love of God and all the things that money was used for, make it cheap. But they were at Gentry’s and Jeongyeon knew it definitely was not.

“O-Okay.” Jeongyeon’s face went pale. She went for her water, gulping it down furiously. 

Mina leaned forward, her elbows on the table and hands folded.

“I want to ask you something,” Mina said, her voice monotone.

“W-What?”

Mina took a moment, gave the air some time to settle, before she continued.

“When you die, do you think anybody would care?”

“What kind of question is that?” Jeongyeon chuckled nervously, taken aback by the question.

“I want to get to know you better. I just hate normal conversations. Like, I could care less whether you like the color purple or how your car is some old pickup truck from the 90s that you got for fifty bucks. I want something real, you know? Something that shows the real you. So tell me, do you think anybody would care? Or I guess the better question is: do you care if anybody cares?”

Jeongyeon was deep in thought, her forehead in wrinkles as her face morphed into a frown. She reached deep inside herself to figure out how she truly felt about this question. After a while, she seemingly figured something out. It’s not fully fleshed but it was something.

Jeongyeon leaned back in her seat and folded her arms.

“No, I don’t care. Like, at all. You know that thing we talked about the other day? About the Wikipedia page? Yeah about that, I don’t mind if I don’t have one. I don’t mind if people care if I die or if my mom somehow forgets I exist. I just want to live for myself. Not for anyone else.”

For the first time since Jeongyeon had met Mina, a smile adorned the normally stoic girl’s face. It was small and subdued, like how Mina is usually, but a smile is a smile nonetheless. This is a win in Jeongyeon’s book. However, she did not know what caused such a poignant reaction. Was it her answer? Why would it be so amusing? 

Jeongyeon took this chance to volley back.

“How ‘bout you then? Would people care? Do you care if people care?”

“No,” Mina immediately said. And she did not say anything further. Jeongyeon left it at that. She found it unfair that she answered it wholeheartedly but Mina chose the easier way out. It did not matter anyway.

Jeongyeon cleared her throat.

“Errr...I’ll call the waiter.” 

Jeongyeon found the eye of their waiter and he understood the situation. She looked to Mina, and Mina held up two fingers, two lobsters, market price. When their waiter came to, he positioned himself so that he focused on Jeongyeon and Jeongyeon only, as if Mina was not even there. Sure, Mina’s presence was fairly small, but it definitely did not warrant such ignorance. It mildly angered Jeongyeon, but she did not want to cause a scene.

“Number thirteen please. Two orders.”

“Two orders?” He furrowed his brow but he quickly shook it off. He cleared his throat, dispelling the awkwardness in the air. “Errr...yes, two orders of number thirteen. Will that be all?”

Jeongyeon nodded and he took the menus from the table and left. After he did, Jeongyeon leaned forward in her seat.

“Can you believe that guy? He completely ignored you! Like you weren’t even there.” Jeongyeon’s nostrils flared at the thought of it.

Mina giggled a little, and Jeongyeon was sure she had not heard such a heavenly sound in all her years of living. 

“Forgive him. I’m sure he has his reasons. Besides, his is tonight.”

“What do you mean it’s tonight?”

Mina waved it off.

“Oh nevermind. It’s just some work stuff.”

Jeongyeon bit her lip.

“You work? Right, you dropped out. Where do you work?”

“All sorts of places. Bars, restaurants, nursing homes...there’s too many places to count. I spend most of time in hospitals, though.”

“You work in the hospital?”

“Yeah, you could say I’m an assistant of sorts. Help transport bodies out. The ones who died.”

“That’s so interesting…” Jeongyeon’s interest was piqued. “...do you enjoy it?”

Mina paused then. She took a moment of silence. It was obvious from the lack of an answer that Mina may not like it after all. 

“It has its perks. It has its problems. Sometimes I feel so strange just looking at them, like they’re there, but they’re not at the same time.”

Jeongyeon nodded, seemingly understanding what Mina was trying to get at. 

“Ever wonder what they were like, you know, before they err...died and all?”

“I like to think by the end of the job I know them very well. It helps with transporting them.”

Jeongyeon smiled slightly. There it was, a small bout of optimism from the other girl. That was all that she cared for really, and getting to know her better of course, but that was a given. 

“You say I’m interesting, but you’re interesting too. Really interesting. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you feel so unreal to me.”

Mina chuckled and leaned back in her seat. 

And Mina had only one thing to say with a smile on her face.

“You have no idea.”

//

“Can I hold your hand?” Jeongyeon asked. They were walking from Gentry’s, heading to nowhere in particular. Just the fact that they were together was enough.

“You may not enjoy it,” Mina warned her.

“How could I not enjoy it?”

“I bet your legs will feel like jelly and you’ll get all tired on me.”

Jeongyeon could not deny Mina had such an effect on her. Mina was so damn interesting, so pretty, amazing, and all sorts of superlatives that a dictionary would not be able to describe how Mina was.

“Try me. C’mon…”—Jeongyeon held her hand out—“...didn’t I tell you I’d regret it?”

Mina giggled and nodded. She held her hand out and took Jeongyeon’s. Almost immediately, what Mina warned her about rang true. Her legs lost their strength and a deep surge of fatigue washed over her. She tightened her grip on Mina’s hand to keep herself from falling. She looked to Mina, who only had the face that spelled ‘I told you so.’

“Do you get what I’m saying?”

Mina tried to rid her hand of Jeongyeon’s grip, but Jeongyeon held firm. In fact, she squeezed even tighter. 

“I like it. Your hand feels soft, but you’re so cold. It makes me want to warm you up.”

Jeongyeon started to get used to it. She did not understand how Mina made her like this. She did not necessarily like it either, but she loved holding Mina’s hand. It felt like they were close in some way. They may have had dinner together, but at this moment, Jeongyeon felt as though this was as true as they could get with each other. Just two girls, holding hands, looking into each other’s eyes. 

“I just want you to know,” Jeongyeon started, her words dripping with sincerity, “I really enjoyed tonight. And I hope this isn’t the last time we’ll be together.”

“Trust me. It won’t be.”

Jeongyeon’s chest felt lighter thanks to Mina’s reassurance. 

“I have another question,” Mina started again. Jeongyeon merely smiled at Mina’s curiosity. 

“Is this one of your questions again? You know I enjoyed you asking me about my cat...or my grades and stuff.”

“It’s the questions that matter to me. Sure, I like knowing about your cat or your terrible grades but those things aren’t you, is it? I want to see you.”

Jeongyeon gestured for Mina to go ahead. 

“Alright, shoot then.”

Mina took that signature pause again. Jeongyeon loved it, actually; it gave the question some sort of heft, as if it was the most important question in the world. And Mina was asking her these types of questions, and so Jeongyeon felt like she was the most important person in the world in Mina’s eyes. In this moment, she was Mina’s world. 

“Do you think life is just a series of coincidences? Or fate.”

Jeongyeon looked at Mina, as if this was the last time she would ever look at her, and for the moment that she did, she felt her heart skip like stones on the water, and the stones plunged down to the sea floor, and that was where her heart lay beneath the darkness of the sea and with other stones that lay in between.

Must Mina look so pretty all the time, so ethereal, like a goddess. If so, god of what? Jeongyeon would like to think that Mina would have to do with treasures and hard questions, or maybe beauty and vanity. But Mina was not vain, far from it in fact. Not once did Mina look into a mirror or fix her bangs. She merely knew she looked good. Jeongyeon could only envy her confidence. 

As her mind wandered to these thoughts, she forgot the question that was asked. Mina made her so, made her forget important things. Like she was Mina’s world, Mina was Jeongyeon’s. And there was nothing else that mattered.

“I’m sorry,” Jeongyeon said, scratching the back of her head. “I zoned out a bit. What’d you say?”

Mina waved it off.

“It’s nothing.”

“I’m serious what is it? C’mon tell me.”

Mina merely smiled at Jeongyeon’s persistence. 

“I’ve gotten my answer already. Your face tells me everything.”

Jeongyeon touched her face. It bothered her a bit, to be read like that. And she was not sure what else Mina could figure out just from her expressions and microexpressions she did. That was it, wasn’t it? What those interrogators did to see if a person is lying or not.

“Oh,” Jeongyeon exhaled out. Her shoulders slumped and she made the effort to not look troubled. But like Mina said, she knew just from the face alone that something was up.

And again, Mina took her finger and pressed it in between Jeongyeon’s eyebrows, smoothening out the creases. She looked indignant as she performed the action, and Jeongyeon felt sort of sad she disappointed Mina. 

“What’d I tell you, hmm? Don’t worry ‘bout the things you can’t change. I’d hate to see wrinkles on your pretty face.”

Jeongyeon blushed pink at the compliment. She grasped the finger pressing down between her eyebrows and gently removed it. 

“I like wrinkles.”

“Hmm?”

“It shows me I’ve lived. See these?” —Jeongyeon pointed at her laugh lines— “I’ve laughed. Some people can’t say the same. And these?” —she pointed to the creases next to her eyes— “I need glasses. I’ve squinted for years.”—she pointed to the last one, her frown lines— “This shows me I’ve actually cared about something. That I’m not living life frivolously. These are my lines. And they show you me.”

Mina smirked at Jeongyeon’s explanation. She was fairly amused. 

“Like I said before Jeongyeon, you’re an interesting one.”

Jeongyeon squinted at Mina.

“You know, even after all this time, I don’t really get you. I feel like I know you but I don’t. How do you do it? How can you give me everything but nothing at the same time?”

Mina shrugged. Her face was as it usually was, nonchalant and uncaring. But that was her face, and Jeongyeon knew they held stories that she hadn’t heard of yet, and she wished Mina would share. She wanted to know more about Mina. If only Mina would be more open.

“I’ve given you everything you’ve ever asked of me. In this day and age, it’s not about the answers. It’s about asking the right questions. And you just haven’t asked the right one.”

“Then give me a hint. Anything. Something that will show me you.”

Mina did not say anything. She merely watched Jeongyeon wiggle and squirm as they walked into nothing. After a short while, she finally had enough.

“Tell me then, one word that describes you,” Mina asked.

Jeongyeon figured this must be it. She would only have to ask it back when it came down to it.

“Tragic,” Jeongyeon answered, a bit embarrassed at her answer. It was so…angsty, like some fresh teen that jumped straight into puberty. But she could not deny it was the first thing she thought of when she heard the question. 

Mina gave a hum of agreement.

“You do have that air. Like everything you do ends up wrong in some shape or form.”

“My life hasn’t been the best. That much is true. I just hope that it gets better.”

“It will,” Mina assured. She gave a small smile. “You’re with me, aren’t you?”

“You have a silver tongue, you know that?”

“I’ve been told.”

“Good. Anyway, I should bounce back that question. One word to describe yourself.”

And just like last time, Mina answered immediately. And when Jeongyeon heard it, she had a hunch that what Mina said about herself was all true, but with dangerously different meanings altogether. 

Jeongyeon felt as though Mina was on to something when she asked that question about fate. Because under the definition of fate, some things were just meant to be. With the night then surely the day must exist too, or like without evil, there could not be good. Or if there was the rich, then there must be the poor. And when there is life...

“Death,” Mina answered. “I am Death.”

//

It all clicked for Jeongyeon, like a switch that turned on in her brain, made her understand all the little quirks and idiosyncrasies that Mina held. It explained everything, or maybe it was all a big coincidence. But coincidences were hardly coincidences. There was always something higher at play. 

For the life of her, she could not believe it. It made her feel so small and insignificant, that she’d be comforted if she lied to herself and told herself she was only making a big deal out of it. But it was a big deal, and that was the problem. Mina was a problem people had been trying to solve for ages—even Nicholas Flamel with his elixir of life could not stave off the advances of death. 

Time and time again, she slowly realized Mina’s words, like a computer analyzing each and every piece of data. She knew Mina, but at the same time she did not, and it was meant to be that way, for Mina was something she did not experience yet. And she wished to never experience it, for death was a paramount existence, tantamount only to life itself.

Sometimes, Jeongyeon’s mind wandered to pictures of Mina, polaroids that they never took, as if it was a snapshot of an alternate life they had, or the future. And maybe, just maybe Mina knew the future they held too, trapped away in that enigmatic mind of hers, locked with a key thrown away in the bottom of the sea next to where her heart laid. 

Jeongyeon had many questions, and yet she knew Mina would give her such vague responses. It would do her no good to ask such questions; she would only become frustrated by the lack of a clear answer.

She sat in the corner of the library again, this time not wielding her Coke and Doritos, but only an open book unread. Jeongyeon could not find herself the mind to read with focus, the events of Friday still fresh in her mind. She hoped that she will get through this soon enough, for she was losing herself bit by bit with every thought of Mina.

“I figured I’d find you here,” a voice said, taking her out of her thoughts. But it was not Mina, no, it was Momo, her friend of sorts. Momo was not exactly the type to associate with her, but after a few visits to the library here and there, Momo became more so an acquaintance more than a friend.

Jeongyeon gestured with her head to the bag of chips on the floor. 

“Help yourself.”

And Momo did, hands giddy as she opened up the chips and started munching on them like an angry gerbil. 

“Huow wsh Gwntory’s?”

Jeongyeon understood the unintelligible question, having had the experience (not pleasure) to decipher it many times before whenever Momo came here.

“Food was expensive, as expected. Wait, how’d you know I went to Gentry’s?”

Momo swallowed what she was chewing and continued.

“Well when you walk in alone at a two star Michelin restaurant and order two orders of market price lobster, word gets around that a high school student has even nearly enough money to be spending their money on that. And you didn’t take me, which is by far the worst kind of crime.”

“Walk in alone…” Jeongyeon muttered. 

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Jeongyeon waved it off. “It’s nothing.”

They sat in silence, well not really. There was the hum of the heater and the crunching sounds coming from Momo’s chips. But apart from that, it was silent. Jeongyeon continued staring at nothing and Momo stared at Jeongyeon, as if she was looking through a magnifying glass and trying to pick out all the little bits and pieces.

“It’s almost D-Day,” Momo blurted.

“What?” 

Gosh, everything reminded her of Mina nowadays. Their conversation at this exact spot playing out in her mind. 

“I said it’s almost that day. You know? Nayeon.”

Jeongyeon nodded and hummed. Her face did not change; her thoughts occupied by Mina.

“I see you’re getting over it. You don’t even react anymore,” Momo observed.

“I’m not over it. I’m just...a little preoccupied with something else.”

“Crushing debt after spending all you had at Gentry’s.”

“No...well yeah, but it’s not that. It’s something else entirely. You wouldn’t understand. It’s not something you’d be interested in.”

“Try me,” Momo challenged. The munching stopped and what was left was their eyes locked to each other, daring to figure out what lay next for them. 

Jeongyeon closed the book in her hand, resting a timid hand on top of it. She stroked the bindings with her thumb, and shifted in her seat. She breathed slowly and with purpose, as to not lose her composure. 

Jeongyeon frowned again, something Mina time and time again told her to stop doing. But Jeongyeon could not help it. Her life was a series of misfortunes stacked upon one another, trying to one up the one before it to be crowned the worst. And this time, the girl she fancied was not who she believed she was, not the girl she wanted her to be. And that was fine—truly, it was, but for once in Jeongyeon’s life, she wished something would go right.

It seemed what Mina said was true, that day under the lone sycamore tree, under the rustles of colorful leaves and the orange of the sky. 

Jeongyeon could only picture Mina’s smug face at the end of it all. 

She regretted meeting Mina.

//

Jeongyeon left the school with heavy steps. Hands in her pockets and ear muffs on, she walked to the park where she usually went at times like these. Tonight, Redding High would be playing St. Edwards in football. And she wanted to be as far away from that as possible.

As always, leaves scattered the ground of the park. Jeongyeon could not get used to the beauty of it. And with the circumstances, she knew she would miss it when the time comes. The time when she could not ever see it ever again. Lately, that time kept ringing in her mind, courtesy of the girl sitting against the sycamore tree.

“I’m not supposed to see you,” Jeongyeon said as she came upon Mina. “But I do. Why?”

Mina did not bother to glance at her, merely doing what she usually did and looked up at the leaves. 

“I don’t know. And frankly, I don’t care. You don’t seem to harm anybody so I suppose why not? Like I said, no use in worrying ‘bout something you can’t change. And well, I don’t have an idea how to make you unsee me. So that’s that.”

“But…”

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions. But be patient. This is the first time someone living has noticed me. I’m not too sure if I’m even allowed to tell you. But I guess I’ll just run down the basics of it.” Mina finally looked at her, those dark brown eyes staring right back at her curious ones.

Mina continued after Jeongyeon’s prolonged silence.

“I’m an agent of Death. I’m not death itself. But I’m pretty darn close to it. Hot shot Death is complaining to God right now. Something about wheat thins or whatever. He trusts us agents to carry on his deeds when he can’t find the time to. So, I guess, here we are.”

“But you told me you went to school here?”

“You would be correct. I used to go to Redding High. The Bluejacks. Never understood why that was our mascot. It’s not even the town bird or something. Well, like you I guess, considering you’re here, you don’t like sports either.”

“Yeah,” Jeongyeon replied. “Too loud. Too rowdy. Not my scene.”

“Same,” Mina said as she nodded. “In that case, I’m guessing you’re not popular. You’re...like me. You’re invisible.”

“I don’t like people. The people here annoy me. They take things for granted and then whine when they lose them. If I’m invisible to them then so be it. I don’t wanna be the subject of their fake pity if something happens to me,” Jeongyeon said.

Mina merely looked at her and gave her a small nod, as if understanding what she was saying, like she had first hand experience. Jeongyeon could only guess what happened to Mina. The sycamore girl looked so youthful. She did not even reach twenty. It made her fear the truth. 

“The waiter at Gentry’s died that night. I told him I enjoyed the lobster. You shoulda seen the look on his face.” Mina smiled a little smile, one that Jeongyeon enjoyed so so much. 

“Do you—are you able to see the future?” Jeongyeon asked, curious of how Mina knew when someone was dying. The situation felt awkward to her, and her heart pounded loudly against her chest that she couldn’t find in herself the courage to look Mina in the eyes anymore. She instead found solace in the white bark of the sycamore tree Mina leaned on. It distracted her, albeit, just for a little while.

“Yes,” Mina answered, curtly.

Jeongyeon could feel Mina’s piercing gaze on her skin, like hot coal pressed upon her cheek. Her whole body throbbed, and she was not sure if it was merely her own fault or Mina’s powers in play. Either way, she did not enjoy it.

“Will you—”

“No.”

“No?”

“I will not tell you yours. That’s the only thing I can’t tell you.”

“Oh. Why not?”

“Because when you tell someone their future, they try to change it. And you can’t change fate. It’ll only make the situation worse to correct itself.”

Jeongyeon pursed her lips. She understood, but she did not like it.

“Is that why you tell me not to worry about anything? Because I can’t change it?”

“Precisely.”

“Then what’s the point?”

“Excuse me?”

“What’s the point? Of life I mean. If everything is already set, then that just means I’m playing out the motions, like some sort of puppet in some elaborate game, or an actress playing her part. That’s cruel. Because from the start, some people would amount to nothing, and they can’t do anything about it.” 

Jeongyeon recoiled back few steps and held her head in her hands. Her head throbbed wilder as she talked more and more. The truth of how her world worked hit a string that did not carry the right tune, and life to her seemed like a song that grated her ears and made her sick to her stomach. 

She took her hands away from her head and stared straight into Mina’s nonchalant ones. They annoyed her. Mina was like everyone else, wasn’t she? Maybe even worse. Because those people who mourned Nayeon when she died at least faked caring, but Mina doesn’t even blink. She did not even try to care.

And at this moment, Jeongyeon despised Mina.

“Fuck fate. Fuck this. Fuck you.”

And she ran as far as her legs would take her.

//

Creases formed along her forehead as she frowned. Like she said before, it showed she worried, that she cared about something in her life. It was true now and it was truer than ever before. 

Jeongyeon believed she cared too much. And really, that was the problem with it.

Because like Mina said, there was no use in worrying about something you could not change. And it hurt, really, to be told that the things she cared about did not really matter, because in the end it did not matter what choices she chose or did not. 

So what was she going to do now? Live like nothing happened? Live as though she never met Mina? 

Jeongyeon massaged her head. It was a good thing the school was open during games. She did understand why, but it was convenient. She had a spare key to the library, and she needed to cool down. Talking to Mina frustrated her.

As she walked along the rows and rows of books, she realized she never looked at the signs along each bookshelf before. She lost sight of her goal to head towards the historical section when she came upon one particular bookshelf.

She crouched to start at the oldest book, the one on the bottom. 1954, it was. On the cover in big bolded letters said, Redding High Yearbook. It was interesting to see everyone’s smiles as she perused each page. When she was done, she went on to the next one. And the next and the next, it fascinated her. 

Then she came upon 1994, a red book unlike the other ones which were green. It felt strange in her hand and she knew she carried something important. Because as she went along the rows of books, every book was green, that was until she reached the one from last year, which also was in red. 

She hesitated opening the red book. And she had a hunch of what she was about to find, but she needed to see it for herself. So, she made her decision.

As she went through each page, her eyes were hawk-like, trying to find what she needed to see. And in the end, she found it. A special page dedicated to a student. 

It was Mina, a familiar smile, that small and subdued smile of hers. She looked as she always did, like a person frozen in time. 

Jeongyeon glanced down further.

1977-1995. She was only seventeen when she died.

_May Mina live in that world in which Mina can live as she likes. _

And beside the picture were apologies and things that people did not get to say. Just like Nayeon’s. Jeongyeon could clearly remember hers when Nayeon had her page. 

_“People come and go, but you’re the person I’ll never forget.”_

There many things Jeongyeon never got to say, and she figured they wouldn’t do any good written down on a page. Nayeon wouldn’t even get to see it.

Mina’s words were increasingly becoming true. 

In the end, it doesn’t even matter. Words do not matter if people don’t get to hear them. 

Jeongyeon closed the yearbook and put her hand on top of the cover. She then held it close to her chest and stood up from her position. She walked to the exit with it in her hands. 

Mina did not do anything wrong. She was merely telling the truth. But maybe that was the problem, because she knew, like many others, that the truth hurt. And people did not want to confront what hurt. 

Jeongyeon sighed. She was being irrational. And that was when she understood. People weren’t in this world long enough to worry. Mina wanted to tell her this, and she ignored it. 

Her grip on the red yearbook tightened. Mina must’ve worried so much when she was alive. 

She needed to talk to Mina. 

//

Jeongyeon never thought she would run into Mina here of all places. Yet, she wasn’t surprised at all. After what had been happening lately, nothing surprised her. 

Mina leaned against the wall, her breaths showing as she exhaled more and more. She looked up into the night sky, and Jeongyeon swore this was Mina’s favorite position, just lost in her thoughts as she looked up at whatever beautiful thing was there.

This time Mina talked to her first. 

“Do you wanna know why I say these things to you?”

Jeoyeon gripped the yearbook in her hand.

“No, you’re not an open book. I can’t read you. You’re too reserved. I don’t understand you most of the time.”

Mina smirked and nodded in agreement. 

“I suppose you can’t. You’re only human after all.”

“But you’re human too, right?” —Jeongyeon held the red yearbook out to Mina— “You told me the truth. You were a student.”

“I never lie,” Mina said curtly, before taking the book from Jeongyeon’s hands. Mina flipped through the pages, her lips turning down more with each page turned. Mina didn’t enjoy seeing the pages of her schoolmates. Whatever they did, they did her terrible.

“I told you I dropped out, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you did.”

Mina pointed up. 

“I fell from the roof of our school. And the last thing I saw was the night sky. It was so beautiful.”

“Is that why you—”

“Look up to the sky?” Mina nodded. “It reminds me of the best day of my life. I believe when you know it’s going to end, life just seems more beautiful. You see things you’ve never seen before. That moment when I looked at the sky, that was the most peace I’ve felt. And I’ll cherish it for as long as I can remember that feeling.”

“What’d they do to you?” Jeongyeon inched closer. What Mina said; she was starting to understand. 

“The same they did to Nayeon. They tore her apart. Made her think that she was terrible and ugly. But I knew and you knew that she was one of the most beautiful people you’ve ever met. Both inside and out.”

“You talked to her?”

“For a while, yes. She cried for half the time we were together. She told me about you, how you’re the only one to keep her afloat. And she wanted to say sorry for leaving you behind.”

“I have a lot of things to say too.”

“In due time, Jeongyeon. In due time. Remember, we all go to the same place. You’ll see her soon enough, and you’ll get to say what you need to.”

Jeongyeon kept mum. The fact that she could see Nayeon elated her, but at the same time the thought of it terrified her. She had done Nayeon wrong too. She, like the others, did not try to help. She merely watched as Nayeon descended into madness. And she ignored Nayeon’s calls late at night so she could sleep. Little did she know, Nayeon drove into a pole drunk and thrown twenty feet from the windshield that night. She was pronounced dead on impact. 

“I know the future, Jeongyeon. Because when I was alive, I threw it all away. And as punishment, I get to see other people’s future. How they become successful, how they’re about to waste it like mine, all sorts of things. And I can’t do anything about it. I’m like watching tv and I keep yelling and I either get jealous or tell them not to go on that path.”

Mina pointed at Jeongyeon. And contrary to how the conversation was playing out, she smiled.

“And you can’t change your future but that’s fine. Just enjoy the ride and have fun. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Having fun? 

Mina pushed herself off the wall and walked closer to Jeongyeon. She inched herself so close, Jeongyeon could feel her breaths on her skin. Jeongyeon’s heart pounded like a jackhammer.

“I know you like me, Jeongyeon. And I know you’re unsure about everything. But I never tell lies, so believe me when I say fate isn’t a bad thing. More often than not, it leads to good things.

“Like what?”

“Me,” Mina said as she pointed to herself. “Fate led you to me. And I want to tell you that you’re doing just fine. So have fun, will you?”

“And how would I do that?”

“I’m forever eighteen, Jeongyeon. And I’ve never had the experiences people should’ve. And with you, I want to know about the world I left.”

“You want to know—”

“This is my way of saying I want to be with you,” Mina interjected. 

Jeongyeon’s mouth gaped in shock. She did not expect this at all.

“Is this—”

“A confession?” Mina brushed her hair behind her ear, a small shy smile coming up her face. “Yeah, it is. I know it sounds weird and you’ve never encountered anything like this before. But I’m sure you’re not too against it, are you?”

“I-I…” Jeongyeon’s mouth gaped before she closed her mouth and nodded. That silent gesture made Mina smile even wider. 

Mina held her face in her hands, as if she was testing her temperature. She looked red, Jeongyeon noticed.

“My goodness I’ve never done this before.”

Jeongyeon’s face brightened and she chuckled at Mina’s reaction. Mina was so cute, and Mina didn’t even know that she was (which made it more cute). 

“Let’s take it one day at a time,” Jeongyeon said before she reached forward and took Mina’s hand into hers. She immediately weakened, but that was okay. It was Mina so it was okay. Besides, Jeongyeon could say she felt weak in the knees when she was with Mina. 

“We have eternity,” Mina said as she tightened her grip in Jeongyeon’s hand. 

“Are we even allowed? Are there some rules about this?”

“About dating?” Mina shook her head. “When you die, there aren’t anymore rules. It’s when everyone rests, right?”

“But you’re working a job. You’re the Grim Reaper.”

“I volunteered. It felt weird being happy all the time. Cause I didn’t feel like it was real. Because some things were meant to be, right? Without sadness, there couldn’t be happiness. And without that binary code, I couldn’t find it in myself to enjoy. You could say I needed this. Besides, I knew where it would lead me.”

“You mean me. It led to me.”

Mina smiled wide and pulled Jeongyeon along and out of the alley.

“Enough questions. It’s time for you to see what I do.”

//

Seeing someone’s soul get sucked out from them was a morbid sight. It was cool, yeah, but Jeongyeon had to look through her fingers. Like a horror movie, she could not watch it with a straight face. 

Thankfully, the dead girl’s soul materialized before them. Unlike the schoolgirl uniform on the body, the girl now wore casual clothes. She was tall and slim and beautiful. And confusion was written on her face. 

“Hey,” Mina greeted to which the girl perked up to. 

“W-Who are you? What am I doing here? Why am I—”

The girl looked down and saw her body on the cold concrete. She immediately understood what had happened and started to sob into her hands. Mina came up to her and smoothed the girl’s back to comfort her. 

“Sana, was it?” Mina asked, though she knew already. 

Sana did not answer, but cried even harder.

“I’m here to guide you. You know who I am?”

Sana looked up from her hands, her eyes red and her nose runny. It was understandable. It must be quite a shock to find out she just died. 

“The Grim Reaper. Y-You’re the Grim Reaper.”

“You were stabbed fourteen times by…” Mina frowned as she ran through the information presented to her. It made her uncomfortable seeing such betrayal. “...your best friend.”

“What? No! It can’t be. It was someone in a mask! A-A…” Sana trailed off. She merely pursed her lips before choking back a sob with her hand. “You’re the Grim Reaper, of course you know. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I just hoped you found better company.”

“She was the best…” Sana said, “...I guess not.”

Mina hummed as she rubbed the girl’s back. She gestured for Jeongyeon to come beside her.

“I’m going to take you now okay? It’s gonna feel a bit strange but most people get by without throwing up. When you get there, you’ll know what to do.”

Sana didn’t answer, but Mina did it anyway. She flourished her hand around Sana. And as if she was disintegrating, Sana disappeared. She was gone, just like that.

“Is that it?” Jeongyeon asked after, staring at the spot Sana was at just a moment ago. She still could not get used to people appearing and disappearing right in front of her. 

“No, there’s more, but my job is done. Souls can’t be taken carelessly. People like me are needed to make sure it’s not corrupted. And if they’re corrupted, well, I’ll save that lesson for another time.”

“We have all the time in the world.”

“We do, but you’re not ready yet.”

“When will I be ready?”

“When I deem you so. It’s not cause I don’t trust you. But I don’t want you to dive in head first and run amok with the information. There’s an order to this.”

“Order to what?”

“Being a Grim Reaper.”

Jeongyeon paused before her face lit up from the realization.

“Are you grooming me to be a Grim Reaper?”

Mina nodded and she shrugged. 

“Is it wrong that I want you to understand me? That I want you by my side?” Mina looked away from Jeongyeon, shy at her words. 

Jeongyeon turned beet red; her face was burning up. It suddenly felt hot.

“I was right. You do have a silver tongue.” Jeongyeon then thought of something and she frowned. “Wait. You’re eighteen. Are you a…”

“No!” Mina blurted out, also now red at Jeongyeon’s words. “I mean...is that a bad thing? I was young and the thought to do it never crossed my mind and-and I—”

Jeongyeon laughed at Mina’s stuttering and bumbling around. She hadn’t meant to sound so accusatory, like it was wrong for Mina not to do. She did mean, of course, that Mina was a virgin. 

“It’s not. Don’t worry. I’m eighteen too and I haven’t done it. I haven’t found the right one.”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Of course I am. I’m deathly curious.” Jeongyeon couldn’t hide her small smile at her pun, something which Mina immediately noticed.

The Grim Reaper groaned and massaged her temple, as if it hurt to even hear. 

“Please don’t make puns like that. You’ll give me a migraine.”

But Jeongyeon merely smiled even larger and continued.

“At least you’re not bored to death!” Jeongyeon laughed at her own joke, which Mina was surely not having. She laughed and laughed and even wiped a tear from her eye. When she calmed down, she had the audacity to do even more, albeit Mina wanting to shut her up.

“Did you know that there was a pun that killed ten people?”

Mina tilted her head, confused. She had not seen in the records that there was a singular pun that killed ten people. Surely, she should have known of such a thing.

“No I have not. What happened?” Mina’s interest was piqued.

“Well one day there was a pun and it entered a room and then poof! Ten people died! Pun in, ten dead!” 

Mina wanted to fucking cry, but she could not deny it was sort of funny. Pun in, ten dead. That was good; it really was. But she did not want Jeongyeon to be encouraged to make such damning puns that made her roll her eyes. This girl was as unfunny as can be, but it was endearing in a way. And Mina did enjoy Jeongyeon laugh and have fun, so she guessed it wasn’t too bad. 

“Ha ha,” Mina said in a sarcastic manner. “But we should get out of here. Wouldn’t want you to be charged with murder.”

“Ah!” Jeongyeon remembered Sana’s dead body lying on the ground. “Right, I forgot. Err...are we teleporting again?”

Mina nodded and she flourished her hand over the both of them. And when Jeongyeon blinked once, she found herself in the air, floating high above the clouds. She panicked when she couldn’t feel the ground but Mina held her tight at her waist.

“Hey. It’s fine. I just wanted to show you this.” Mina looked up to the vibrant night sky and the mountains pale moon was giving her face a silvery light. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

But Jeongyeon was not looking at what Mina was looking at. Instead, she stared at Mina, in awe of how ethereal she looked. And again, she felt her heart skip, giddy and elated, so happy that she was with someone so amazing. Jeongyeon wanted to learn much from Mina, and looking at the curves of Mina’s jaw and the twinkling eyes more vibrant than the stars she looked at, Jeongyeon knew then that she didn’t want anyone else. 

“Yeah,” Jeongyeon breathlessly whispered. “So damn beautiful.” 

“I didn’t know whether or not to take you here. I didn’t know if you were afraid of heights,” Mina told Jeongyeon, her attention still to the night sky.

“Heights are fine for me. I climbed up a tree once and then me and Nayeon find it to be really cozy and a good place to talk. So we made it our spot.”

Mina looked down to Jeongyeon, catching those soft eyes staring back at her. And she gave an equally soft smile back.

“That tree. Is it still there?”

Jeongyeon nodded. “It was the sycamore tree you were leaning on. We would be in the top branches just talking and laughing and having no care in the world. Like your stars, the time when I felt the most peace were those conversations. I felt my age. Now it seems like everyone’s opinion matters and I’m all stressed out.”

“We all have our troubles. But that doesn’t mean yours is less important. How about we do it like this. Whenever you’re feeling inadequate or unsure, just talk to me. I’ll come by. That’s one of the side effects of being Death, it’s all around you.”

“Really? You’d do that for me?”

“I could handle the bullies too.”

Jeongyeon held her hands up, as if stopping Mina from doing anything drastic. She immediately realized what she had done and expected to fall, but she was floating in mid air, hovering above the puff of white clouds.

“Y-You don’t have to do that. I don’t have any bullies.”

“Good…or else.”

“Else what?”

Mina shrugged. “Maybe I’ll pay their grandmothers a visit. Maybe they’re grandads if their grandmas are all gone. You never know.”

“Don’t get carried away. It’s still a job, isn’t it? You just can’t take souls willy-nilly.”

Mina chuckled and nodded.

“I was joking but okay. I won’t get carried away. Whatever you say.”

“Good. Now can we get down from here? It’s feels really weird.”

“Hold on to me then,” Mina ordered and Jeongyeon immediately followed. But they did not teleport this time. Instead, they descended to the town below. When they passed the clouds, Jeongyeon caught sight of all the lights and the traffic. She saw all the familiar buildings, her house in the distance. And they were headed to the pro where they first met.

The park at night had lamps that illuminated the vicinity. It was dim, but it was enough light that the paths were all lit. They landed under the sycamore tree, but Jeongyeon still held tight to Mina. She did not want to let go. She was weak with Mina’s hold on her, and it felt like a full body massage. Mina’s powers really come in handy at times. 

“We’re here,” Mina said, as if Jeongyeon did not know that already. 

“Can I ask you something?” Jeongyeon looked at Mina with downturned eyes and a grip on the hem of her shirt. 

“Y-Yeah you can. But stop that, you’re making me blush.”

Jeongyeon chuckled a little before nodding and stopping the adorable actions altogether. She cleared her throat.

“When I go, will you be the one to take me?”

“Of course! If I wasn’t, I’d be complaining to the main Reaper for eons to come. And I’d swear he’d turn back time just for me.”

“He can do that? He can turn back time?”

“Not exactly. He turns back the time of a person.”

“You mean he gives them life?”

Mina hummed. She watched Jeongyeon ponder at the words. 

“That’s ironic, isn’t it?” Mina continued. “Death giving Life.”

“Yeah, it is…” Jeongyeon trailed off, but her eyes were glazed and looking off into the distance. There was something off about her. 

“You’re thinking of something,” Mina told Jeongyeon, “And I think I know what it is. But let me stop you right there. We aren’t bringing Nayeon back.”

“What! Why? Please! Pretty please! Let me talk to her! Just for two minutes!”

“Two minutes is too much! And no! It’ll disrupt the balance.”

“Is this some sort of Grim Reaper thing that I haven’t learned yet?”

Mina nodded. “Yeah. And you aren’t ready for it. Your will is weak. You need to rid yourself of the temptation of bringing back the dead.”

Jeongyeon visibly deflated and Mina could not help but deflate too. She mimicked Jeongyeon’s feelings, because that was what it came down to for her now. Jeongyeon’s happiness is her happiness and Jeongyeon’s sadness is her sadness. She was not lying about being there for Jeongyeon, and what better way for being there than by knowing how Jeongyeon felt. 

Mina sighed and telepathically messaged the original Death.

_Favor?_

_Sure, but you owe me four boxes of wheat thins. My bones are all flaky._

_Thirty seconds of Im Nayeon._

_Deal. Friggin’ wheat thins here I come!_

And just like that, when Jeongyeon blinked, she did not see Mina, but rather her old best friend—Nayeon. She did not look any older than she left, and it was a sight for sore eyes. She found Mina off to the side, looking at the situation with fond eyes. 

When they looked at each other, they both started crying immediately and embraced each other in a tight hug. 

“Oh my god. I missed you so much!” Nayeon squealed as she hugged Jeongyeon tight.

“Me too Nayeon. Me too.”

Nayeon pulled away from the hug but she held Jeongyeon by arms.

“I only have around ten seconds left but let me tell you something.”

“What?” Jeongyeon would listen to what Nayeon said any day.

Nayeon looked her straight in the eye.

“I’ve loved you ever since I met you.”

And with another blink, Nayeon disappeared. And Jeongyeon was left reeling back from the shock. She stared at the empty space Nayeon was at. 

She looked right at Mina and saw that same agape expression on her face. They were both caught off guard. 

And Jeongyeon had only one thing to say about it.

“Oh...shit.”

**Author's Note:**

> @pinkyooniverse on Twitter :)


End file.
